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Isetnofret
Isetnofret (or Isis-nofret or Isitnofret) (Ancient Egyptian: "the beautiful/good Isis" or "Isis is beautiful/good") was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II and was the mother of his successor, Merneptah. She may have become, around the same time as Nefertari, one of the many wives of Ramesses II before he was crown prince (In the first year of his tenure as crown prince, Ramesses II was granted an entire harem by his father, Seti I). All evidence confirming Isetnofret's title of Chief Queen comes from after her death, suggesting that she was likely posthumously granted the title, around the 30th to 33rd/34th year of Ramesses II's reign.
The parents of Isetnofret are not known. There is substantial evidence suggesting that she had blood relationship with Pharaoh Horemheb. She is believed to have originated from Memphis and may have been closely related to Tanedjemet, the wife of Seti I and daughter of Horemheb. A block from Horemheb's tomb at Saqqara depicts an "Isetnofret" dressed as a princess. In Saqqara, this "Isetnofret" also appears on a block belonging to a male officer, bearing the title "Mistress of the House." She may have been a daughter born to Horemheb before he became pharaoh, who later married the officer and gave birth to the Isetnofret who eventually married Ramesses II. She must have married Ramesses II even before he came to the throne as her three children were born during the reign of Seti I. She had at least three sons and one daughter. Her children include:
Prince Sethi and Princess Nebettawy have been suggested as further children of Isetnofret, but they are more likely to be the children of Nefertari (or even some other mother).
Queen Isetnofret's titles include: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p't), Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), King's Mother (mwt-niswt), Mistress of the entire Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy-tm), King's Wife (hmt-nisw), Great King's Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt)
Of these, only the title "King's Wife" can be definitively attested during her lifetime. While monuments depicting Isetnofret as "Great King's Wife" are known, these monuments were all produced by her sons, and not by the pharaoh himself, and their chronological position is uncertain and may have been accorded posthumously. In the reign of her son, Merneptah, the titles "Hereditary Princess," "Great of Praises," "King's Mother," and "Mistress of the Entire Two Lands" were all conferred upon her in a relief at the foot of a statue of the king.
Isetnofret is known from several inscriptions and small statues. Before the 30th year of Ramesses II's reign, records of her are scarce. In fact, she never appears in Ramesses II's constructions and is only attested through the monuments of her sons and her own funerary equipment.
A daughter of her son Khaemwaset (sometimes called Isetnofret III) was named after her. It is possible that this Isetnofret was Merenptah's wife, not her aunt Isetnofret II. A possible daughter of Merneptah also bears this name.
In private monuments, Isetnofret is attested in both Upper and Lower Egypt. Her two most notable records, namely the family stelae of Khaemwaset, are located at Aswan and Silsila in Upper Egypt, while funerary-related records and other mentions concerning her and her sons are found at Memphis in Lower Egypt. There is evidence that she participated in the administration of the temple where her son served and held a priestly role. However, she did not appear in any of Ramesses II's official monuments. Given the complete absence of Isetnofret from the official artistic program of Ramesses II, any specific interpretation of a singular omission—such as attempting to explain her absence from the Great Temple of Abu Simbel or from the official art related to Ramesses II’s Sed festival—is rendered meaningless, as she is in no instance mentioned by her husband, the pharaoh. Besides that, she was also not buried in the Valley of the Queens, but rather in a local tomb at Saqqara. Although her son became pharaoh, she does not appear on the royal ancestor lists of the Ramesside period, and there is no evidence that she held the title of Great King's Wife during her lifetime, despite assertions by some scholars. All evidence indicates that Isetnofret was simply an ordinary King's Wife. She was respected due to her possible confirmed familial connection to Pharaoh Horemheb and as the mother of several older princes and princesses. That she has emerged from historical obscurity to be known to modern audiences is entirely thanks to her son, especially Khaemwaset. As the Belgian Egyptologist Claude Obsomer note:
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Isetnofret AI simulator
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Isetnofret
Isetnofret (or Isis-nofret or Isitnofret) (Ancient Egyptian: "the beautiful/good Isis" or "Isis is beautiful/good") was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II and was the mother of his successor, Merneptah. She may have become, around the same time as Nefertari, one of the many wives of Ramesses II before he was crown prince (In the first year of his tenure as crown prince, Ramesses II was granted an entire harem by his father, Seti I). All evidence confirming Isetnofret's title of Chief Queen comes from after her death, suggesting that she was likely posthumously granted the title, around the 30th to 33rd/34th year of Ramesses II's reign.
The parents of Isetnofret are not known. There is substantial evidence suggesting that she had blood relationship with Pharaoh Horemheb. She is believed to have originated from Memphis and may have been closely related to Tanedjemet, the wife of Seti I and daughter of Horemheb. A block from Horemheb's tomb at Saqqara depicts an "Isetnofret" dressed as a princess. In Saqqara, this "Isetnofret" also appears on a block belonging to a male officer, bearing the title "Mistress of the House." She may have been a daughter born to Horemheb before he became pharaoh, who later married the officer and gave birth to the Isetnofret who eventually married Ramesses II. She must have married Ramesses II even before he came to the throne as her three children were born during the reign of Seti I. She had at least three sons and one daughter. Her children include:
Prince Sethi and Princess Nebettawy have been suggested as further children of Isetnofret, but they are more likely to be the children of Nefertari (or even some other mother).
Queen Isetnofret's titles include: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p't), Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), King's Mother (mwt-niswt), Mistress of the entire Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy-tm), King's Wife (hmt-nisw), Great King's Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt)
Of these, only the title "King's Wife" can be definitively attested during her lifetime. While monuments depicting Isetnofret as "Great King's Wife" are known, these monuments were all produced by her sons, and not by the pharaoh himself, and their chronological position is uncertain and may have been accorded posthumously. In the reign of her son, Merneptah, the titles "Hereditary Princess," "Great of Praises," "King's Mother," and "Mistress of the Entire Two Lands" were all conferred upon her in a relief at the foot of a statue of the king.
Isetnofret is known from several inscriptions and small statues. Before the 30th year of Ramesses II's reign, records of her are scarce. In fact, she never appears in Ramesses II's constructions and is only attested through the monuments of her sons and her own funerary equipment.
A daughter of her son Khaemwaset (sometimes called Isetnofret III) was named after her. It is possible that this Isetnofret was Merenptah's wife, not her aunt Isetnofret II. A possible daughter of Merneptah also bears this name.
In private monuments, Isetnofret is attested in both Upper and Lower Egypt. Her two most notable records, namely the family stelae of Khaemwaset, are located at Aswan and Silsila in Upper Egypt, while funerary-related records and other mentions concerning her and her sons are found at Memphis in Lower Egypt. There is evidence that she participated in the administration of the temple where her son served and held a priestly role. However, she did not appear in any of Ramesses II's official monuments. Given the complete absence of Isetnofret from the official artistic program of Ramesses II, any specific interpretation of a singular omission—such as attempting to explain her absence from the Great Temple of Abu Simbel or from the official art related to Ramesses II’s Sed festival—is rendered meaningless, as she is in no instance mentioned by her husband, the pharaoh. Besides that, she was also not buried in the Valley of the Queens, but rather in a local tomb at Saqqara. Although her son became pharaoh, she does not appear on the royal ancestor lists of the Ramesside period, and there is no evidence that she held the title of Great King's Wife during her lifetime, despite assertions by some scholars. All evidence indicates that Isetnofret was simply an ordinary King's Wife. She was respected due to her possible confirmed familial connection to Pharaoh Horemheb and as the mother of several older princes and princesses. That she has emerged from historical obscurity to be known to modern audiences is entirely thanks to her son, especially Khaemwaset. As the Belgian Egyptologist Claude Obsomer note: